10 



BULLETIN" 214, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table II. — Average cost per acre x of the farm operations involved in groiving spring 

 wheat in the Great Plains area. 



[The wage scale assumed is $2 per day for each man and $1 per day for each horse.] 



Operation. 



Force employed. 



Men. Horses. 



Day's 

 work. 



Item 

 cost. 



Cost per 

 acre. 



Plowing 



Disking 



Harrowing 



Subsoiling 



Drilling 



Cultivating 



Listing 



Harvesting: 



Cutting and binding 



Shocking 



Twine 



Binder wear and repair. 



Acres. 

 3i 

 8 



35 

 31 

 15 

 16 

 10 



$1.71 

 .75 

 .17 

 1.43 

 .40 

 .38 

 .60 



$0.40 

 .13 

 .25 

 .15 



1 The cost of thrashing is not included in the cost per acre, but it is estimated at 10 cents per bushel and 

 deducted from the price of 80 cents in the granary, thus giving a value of 70 cents per bushel in the shock. 



The costs of hauling, stacking, and thrashing are not included in 

 the per-acre cost of production because they can be calculated more 

 accurately on the basis of cost per bushel, as hereafter explained. 



The average farm price of wheat used in these computations is 

 based on the data given in Table III, furnished by the Bureau of 

 Crop Estimates. The four States of Kansas, Nebraska, North Da- 

 kota, and South Dakota were selected because their extensive wheat 

 production has given them established market prices, which are not 

 greatly influenced by local conditions. 



Table III. — Average price of spring wheat at the farm granary for 10 years in four States 



of the Great Plains area. 



[The quotations are given in cents per bushel. Those for the year 1914 are for the date of Nov. 1; in other 



years Dec. 1 is taken as the date.] 



Year. 



North 

 Dakota. 



South 

 Dakota. 



Ne- 

 braska. 



Kansas. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Year. 



North 

 Dakota. 



South 

 Dakota. 



Ne- 

 braska. 



Kansas. 



Aver- 

 age. 



1905 

 1906 

 1907 

 1908 

 1909 

 1910 



69 

 63 

 87 

 92 

 92 

 90 



67 

 61 

 89 

 92 

 90 

 89 



66 



57 

 79 

 84 

 89 

 80 



71 

 58 

 82 

 88 

 96 

 84 



68J 



59f 



84i 



89 



91J 



85J 



1911 



1912 

 1913 

 1914 



Average. 



89 

 69 

 73 

 97 



91 

 69 

 71 

 90 



87 

 69 

 71 

 92 



91 



74 

 79 

 94 



89J 

 70J 

 73J 

 94i 



82 



81 



77 



82 



80* 



Table III shows that the average farm price of wheat on December 

 1 for the past 10 years has been, in round numbers, 80 cents per 

 bushel. It costs about 10 cents per bushel to take the grain from 

 the shock, thrash it, and put it in the granary on the farm. This 

 cost per bushel does not vary greatly with the yield and is therefore 

 a fixed price per bushel instead of a fixed price per acre, as is the case 

 with the other costs of production. It is therefore obvious that the 

 relative profits of producing wheat under the different methods can 

 best be determined, by finding the difference between the fixed cost 

 per acre and the value per acre of the grain at the point where the 



